SFJAZZ’s new home, Bobby Z’s 2nd benefit, D’Angelo’s new music

Congrats to SFJAZZ. After presenting its first concerts in San Francisco 30 years ago, today the nonprofit organization SFJAZZ has built a home and performance venue of its own. Its grand opening occurred on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 21, 2013.

According to a press release about the SFJAZZ opening, “The SFJAZZ Center can now efficiently integrate itself under one roof to present world-class artists in concert throughout the year, nurture young musicians’ development and promote music education.”

McCoy Tyner will play at the new SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco on January 24.Photo courtesyof Blue Note Records

“After 30 years of presenting music in a variety of rented venues throughout the Bay, it is with great joy we announce our first season in our new home, the SFJAZZ Center,” said Randall Kline, the founder and executive artistic director of SFJAZZ.

He also noted in the press release, “The center is the first free-standing building for jazz in the country — designed, from concept to concert hall, to create an enhanced setting for creating and experiencing what the esteemed jazz writer Whitney Balliett calls ‘the sound of surprise.’”

McCoy Tyner’s January 24 concert at SFJAZZ is already sold out. No doubt there will be some “Tender Moments” come Saturday, March 9 when he plays with his quartet at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hopkins. The SFJAZZ Collective is scheduled to return to the Dakota on March 19. They will be performing the music of Chick Corea. For more information on SF Jazz, visit www.sfjazz.org.

Concert for heart health

My Purple Heart and the American Heart Association will kick-off the 2nd Annual Benefit 2 Celebrate Life! on Saturday, March 9, 8 pm, at First Avenue downtown Minneapolis.

Robert Rivkin, a.k.a. Bobby Z, former drummer for Prince & the Revolution, is the founder of the My Purple Heart organization. The Benefit 2 Celebrate Life will feature actress Maya Rudolph, drummer ?uestlove of the Roots, Stokley Williams of Mint Condition, vocalist Alexander O’Neal and many other guests.

This one-of-a-kind event to raise heart-health awareness on the second anniversary of Bobby’s near-fatal heart attack will be an intimate one that will include a variety of great music and lively stories. A portion of the proceeds will benefit My Purple Heart and the American Heart Association for continued heart-health education.

The Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson is currently at work putting the final touches on D’Angelo’s eagerly awaited new album, which he told Billboard magazine is “99 percent done,” and added, “I would not be far off by saying this is probably my generation’s version of Sly [and the Family Stone’s] There’s a Riot Goin’ On…It’s potent. It’s funky. It’s an extremely hard pill to swallow.” ?uestlove also told Billboard that he hopes D’Angelo will turn in the new album next month.

The album has been delayed several times since 2004. ?uestlove, who produced Al Green’s 2008 Blue Note album Lay It Down, told Rolling Stone that the record marks a “radical 180 turn” for D’Angelo.

D’Angelo’s talented audio engineer for his 2000 Voodoo album, Russell “The Dragon” Elevado, also engineered two songs on Minneapolis-born Jose James’s new Blue Note album, No Beginning No End. Elevado has also worked closely with trumpeter Roy Hargrove on his RH Factor albums from back in 2003. Hargrove has collaborated with D’Angelo, performing and recording with him on Voodoo. Elevado also engineered Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate.

José James and Kris Bowers return to the Cedar Cultural Center on Monday, April 21. Consider this an invitation to enjoy more new music from two young and gifted musicians with new albums.
But this is not just a fantastic reintroduction of two talented artists.

The Music
Alexander O’Neal with Cherrelle
Fri., July 19, 8 pm • First Avenue & 7th St. Entry, 701 N. 1st Ave., Mpls., 612-338-8388 or http://first-avenue.com • The pair reunite to sing their duets “Saturday Love” and “Never Knew Love Like This,” along with their respective catalogue of songs.

On Wednesday, April 15, four-time Grammy winner Yolanda Adams performed at “The Twin Cities Most Powerful Voices Gospel Concert” held at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in St. Paul. The concert, sponsored by HealthPartners and Regions Hospital, was free of charge and jam-packed, with an overflow of fans having to view the concert from a big screen outside the event.

Recently, I was scanning Netflix for a movie to watch and I came across Indecent Proposal. I watched it, again. Surprise, Herbie Hancock played the piano in one scene. I hadn’t noticed that when I watched the movie the first time. It was released in 1993. Back then, I wasn’t fully aware of jazz yet. Anyway, the movie got me thinking.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Members of Urban Ventures’ Summer Lab stopped by the MSR office July 23 and chatted with MSR Publisher/CEO Tracey Williams-Dillard, as part of a community scavenger hunt.
Much to the delight of the youth group, NFL wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. — who plays for the Arizona Cardinals and grew up in the neighborhood — happened to be driving by and stopped to take pictures with the excited teens.